Hertfordshire residents with these surnames could be owed thousands in unclaimed estates

New research has revealed Hertfordshire has the 7th most unclaimed estates in the UK per 100,000 people.

The study, conducted by Investing Reviews looked at what regions and surnames have the most unclaimed estates in the UK.

Research from last year shows that there was over £77m of unclaimed inheritance in 2021.

Figures from the UK government’s treasury solicitor shows 7,090 estates remain unclaimed.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the average amount individuals receive in inheritance is £11,000, meaning there is potentially millions still to be claimed.

Data reveals that almost 5000 unclaimed estates are from people dying since 2000 with the others dating as far back as the 1970s.

Greater London is also the area with the largest number of unclaimed cases of inheritance, almost 10 times the number of the next county.

The 10 areas with the most unclaimed estates per 100,000 people:

> Greater London has 2,355 unclaimed estates

> Surrey has 362 unclaimed estates

> West Midlands has 348 unclaimed estates

> West Yorkshire has 337 unclaimed estates

> Kent has 240 unclaimed estates

> Essex has 238 unclaimed estates

> East Sussex has 190 unclaimed estates

> Hampshire has 186 unclaimed estates

> Hertfordshire has 167 unclaimed estates

> Devon has 114 unclaimed estates.

Statistics also show the most common surnames with unclaimed estates registered.

If you have one of these surnames, it is definitely worth checking to see if you have been left life-changing money.

The top 10 names and the amounts of unclaimed estates for each are as follows:

Smith - 129

Jones - 86

Taylor -54

Brown- 50

Williams- 44

Wilson - 39

Davies - 37

Johnson - 37

Thomas - 30

Kelly - 29.

You can view the full research here.